A European 2020 vision

Jean-Jacques Dordain, ESA Director General

In 2010 European Heads of State and Government endorsed the “Europe 2020” strategy that guides the negotiations of the EU Multiannual Financial Framework (MFF) for 2014–20. It sets five major targets: a clear policy orientation to support employment, innovation, research and development, climate change and energy, with correlated priorities towards education and fighting both poverty and social exclusion.

European States and the EU are elaborating policies that will lead us into the next decade. The role of public actors in times of economic recovery and in building future successes is at the forefront of today’s policy challenges.

Space will be a key strategic tool in achieving this goal and ESA aims to play its full part in supporting Europe’s ambition in this critical time.

ESA is the organisation that acts for its Member States in space research and development. It is at the heart of this public trust to maintain and further develop the fundamental drivers for growth, such as scientific excellence and the competitiveness of European industry.

The past decade has been successful in setting up a sound, comprehensive policy framework for space in Europe. Two large programmatic cooperation initiatives were born, Galileo and GMES, while facilitating added value in many subsectors. This dynamic will see new opportunities in the years running up to 2020 and beyond, either within the ESA framework or with EU support.

This year’s Ministerial Council will be a decisive moment for shaping the future of ESA, thus contributing to define the evolution of space in Europe and the sustained inclusion of space as a unique tool for innovation, growth and the implementation of European policies.